The Entertainment Project2516

My name is Christian Farr with NBC 5 News. We are working on a story about the problems the Entertainment Project has been facing. We would like to talk to parents and students of the program about this....my number is 312-771-0265 or you can email me at christian.farr@nbcuni.com.

Christian Farr
NBC 5 News
Reporter

This news is shocking, as co-founder and co-artistic director of Li'l Buds theatre company to hear of a business being so unprofessional and cruel to these families and children. To not only take people's hard earned money but to also steal the hopes and dreams of these young performers. Li'l Buds is a professional children's theatre company who have serviced children from all of the city for the past seven years. We are holding two separate summer camp sessions one in Lincoln park at the Greenhouse theatre center and one in the new Rivendell theatre in the neighborhood. For information about our programs visit our website www.lilbudstheare.org or email us at lilbudstheatre@gmail.com. We feel horrible about this situation and hope we can help keep these young performers dreams alive. Please let us know if we can help in any way.

Mr. Timothy Kiernan and Ms Laura Peterson (i think Mr Kiernan's wife) ran this company into the ground... closed the doors and walked away without notice.
From the beginning I got a weird feeling when after one session Miss Laura was asking for $800 up front for the next session, tickets and a uniform (that never transpired) but as my daughter loved the program i went on a payment program for the fall and winter session.
Several weekends the classes were suddenly canceled, only to learn later that it was due to a wedding (between Mr K and Miss P) then later on for random excuses.
During winter break I got an email about the summer program to pay in advance and get a discount. $475 per 3 week session from 8 until 4! Great for the working parent, until we found out the camp has been closed and truly been dissolved as a business since July 2011!
Now we have learned he has done this previously, learn from our mistakes.... do your due diligence on every program!
Thank goodness we paid by credit card so I'm hoping to get my money back from the summer but i'm out for the spring session AND we have since learned Mr. Timothy Kiernan has done this before! BEWARE!

I was going to try their camps this summer - pre-paid for two sessions to try to save some money. Now I'm out $1200 because the founder abandoned the company.

Tim Kiernen, good luck trying to make another go at a company that requires the trust of your customers. In today's connected world, you will have to go into witness protection to start again.

Tim Kiernan is a crook. He has stolen money from hundreds of families who have pre-paid thousands of dollars for a summer camp that he's abandoned. Not only I am out $1,500, I have no outlet for my child for the summer while I work. He's left his former employees with no money or resources to try to mend the situation. He's given no response to the families involved. Moreso, the first day of summer camp, families will drop off their kids only to find the owner has abandoned the company and there's no summer programming. Tim Kiernan is a thief. He's stood cowardly behind his talented staff and now exposed, has left the company and probably the state. I would never, ever recommend anyone to work with Tim Kiernan. He and his wife are Dishonest and wildly selfish. They have double charged individuals and taken unauthorized payments from people's PayPal accounts. This man should be arrested so that he is unable to work in this industry, regardless of location.

*** THE OWNER OF TEP HAS ABANDONED THE PROGRAM ***
Mr. Timothy Kiernan, who ran TEP, has completely abandoned the program, the kids, the staff and the parents. He allegedly owes money to EVERYONE. (I'm personally out $1,500.) No one can find him. While the rest of the staff at TEP is/was amazing (Ms. Dana, Ms. Alia and Ms. O... among others) do NOT register for TEP in 2012!

My daughter has been going to TEP for three years and has loved almost every minute of it. The teachers are wonderful, but the company owner recently has stopped responding to phone calls and email, and the school where the program was housed has changed the locks, putting an abrupt end to preparations for a the first week of June. The kids are devastated, the teachers are suddenly unemployed and lots of parents who have already paid for summer camp are wondering if they will have to kiss that money goodbye.

WARNING: Do not sign up for TEP this summer, 2012! The founder, Tim Kiernan, has abandoned the company, meaning there is no more TEP. The company has been evicted from the building, just call Gordon Tech and ask. For more info e-mail theentproinfo@yahoo.com. The families who have been a part of TEP appreciate all it has done the last eight years. Our children have learned to love the theater. The voice, dance and acting training has been outstanding! Dana, Alia and Mansie are worth their weight in gold and will be successful wherever they go!

My child adores The Entertainment Project! We love her instructors and she is always talking about her experiences there. However, I am consistently disappointed with the company's administration and organization. I find it extremely hard to get in touch with the company administrator. I have left voicemail after voicemail expressing questions and concerns and never given an answer. When I escort my child to classes the administrator is rarely there making it difficult to communicate with them regardless of means. When I speak with my child about classes I'm informed that the owner is rarely there and that other teachers fill in for his absence.
My child just participated in one of the shows. It was fantastic, my
entire family loved it! And as stated above, my child loves this program and I hope we can continue our relationship with it, but I cannot overlook being disregarded time and time again.

The entertainment project is a complete ripp off! I went to look into it and was talked into signing my daughter up right away under the guise that if there was a scheduling conflict the 750.00 was refundable, except for the small deposit. She ended up not being able to attend, and I have spent the last 8 months trying to get a refund.

be very cautious...our child attended the summer camps 2 years in a row. this summer no music class or art class was given (even though the director assured us that they would be. also, we have paid 50$ each for memory dvd's and posters and have never seen them!!! we will be looking for other options next summer as apparently this is a common theme.

I'm going to TEP this summer, and I really don't know what to expect, I'm hoping for a challange.
If anyone can post what the performances are like, I'd really appricate it! Are there a lot of older kids?
Thanks

It gets boring.

I've been in 4 TEP shows since the summer, including the one I'm doing now. The teachers are super and once I'm there I never want to leave! Any kid who likes to sing, dance and act is sure to LOVE it! I've also learned a whole lot! TEP rocks!

As a former student and current teacher at The Entertainment Porject, I would recommend TEP's programs to anyone. Private artistic training and fun performance groups are available to anyone age 5-adult, regardless of prior experience. Summer camp programs are open all summer--at the end of each camp session the cast members (campers) put on a musical. The summer shows are always amazing. There are also multiple shows put on throughout the year. It's not too expensive, a lot of financial aid is available, the staff is very involved with the kids, and it's a ton of fun! www.entertainmentproject.org

I highly recommend the Entertainment Project Camp to my friends and family. The productions were incrediable! Their combination of the arts and fun was perfect balance for my kids. I will sign up my kids every year without hesitation. My kids have experienced other camps in the past and TEP has by far been the very best! The staff was extremely attentive and made my kids feel confident!